Open Letter to the Community – ‘HaTikvah,’ ‘The Hope’

Knowing that so many of you share my anguish at the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, at the mortal perils now confronting the State of Israel, and at the resurgence of antisemitism in our own nation and around the world, I am writing at this time of grave crisis with an urgent conviction. 

What we have witnessed in the horrifying evidence still emerging is as savage as any pogrom ever visited upon the Jewish people. It has deprived us not only of a fearful toll of innocent lives but of all illusions:  we face an existential threat to Jewish people everywhere. There can be no doubt of this, even for those of us who would prefer to dismiss our worst fears.  

Israel’s national anthem is called “HaTikvah,” “The Hope.” Indeed, we are a people of hope. But hope must always be tempered by reality. “In every generation,” says the Passover Haggadah, “enemies have risen up to destroy us.” We have pledged “Never again.” Yet here we are again.  

For many of us, the specter of the Holocaust is remote. The comparison is not one of magnitude but of malevolence. In the ideology of Hamas, Jews everywhere are targeted for destruction. The State of Israel is the front line. It must wage a war of self-defense not only to protect its own civilians but to protect you and me. Not only that: Log on to any social media platform and you will witness the avalanche of distortion and antisemitic propaganda that has descended upon us. Israel must wage this battle as well, and it is just as daunting. 

Should Israel’s enemies prevail, what will be the fate of the Jewish people? For we have surely learned what can happen when we lose the capacity to defend ourselves. The Israel Defense Force is a mighty front   line—and it’s imperative that we support them. 

This is not a war against the Palestinians, so many of whom are innocent victims as well. It is a war against a fundamentalist Islamist group and its backers who seek to destroy Israel and kill all Jews. 

Hope must be tempered by reality, but there is hope. It begins with our own United States of America. Its leadership continues to demonstrate a deep commitment to Israel’s existence and security. Every Jew, in America and around the world, can be thankful for this.

But even the deepest commitment can be jeopardized if we Jews ourselves are not united in our own resolve to stand by Israel … Our fortitude, our solidarity, our support, our unwavering determination are what we can give to the Israelis who are fighting at this very hour to defend their lives and ours.

But even the deepest commitment can be jeopardized if we Jews ourselves are not united in our own resolve to stand by Israel — in word and deed, in daylight and darkness, through its most agonizing trials.  Our fortitude, our solidarity, our support, our unwavering determination are what we can give to the Israelis who are fighting at this very hour to defend their lives and ours.

The book of Ecclesiastes tells us: “A threefold cord is not easily broken.” A rope woven of many strands will always be stronger than the single thread. That is the verdict of our people’s history, and my most profound conviction. In the words of the Jewish sages, “Let us be strong, and let us be strengthened by one another.”  When we unite, we cannot be broken.

Uri D. Herscher is Founder, President and CEO Emeritus of Skirball Cultural Center.